My one month travel-versary

With some pretty amazing wanderlust bloggers out there, I feel slightly nervous about this. I’ve started and deleted this post many times, not wanting to take tearsandtrainers in a new direction, but as I squeeze in training sessions at 32 degrees on the other side of the world, I’ve decided to document this new stage of my life.
So forgive me, I’m definitely not a travel blogger (or a natural backpacker for that matter), but here are some thoughts on my one month travel-versary.

You’re not going to love every place you visit

Every traveller you meet has their own opinion, favourite hostel and long list of suggestions about where to go and what to eat. This is, more often than not, amazing, but don’t let other’s views blind your own.
After hearing wonderful things about Chiang Mai, I was beyond excited for our first stop. Controversially, it’s probably my least favourite place so far, as without expensive tours to see elephants or sedated tigers, there’s not much to do. The beauty of travelling is packing a bag and leaving when you’re done, but don’t be afraid to disagree.

You don’t have to be busy 24/7
We soon realised if you try and fill all your time with sight seeing and socialising, you’ll tire yourself out. I’m not saying spend hours in your hostel room, but sometimes admitting you can’t be bothered to see another temple and having a lie in isn’t a bad thing.

Spending 24 hours a day with someone can be tough

Whether that’s your best friend, your boyfriend or someone you’ve just met. From sleeper buses to stomach upsets, you’ll live though all the ups and downs travelling brings with this one person.
Travelling with my boyfriend, my best advice is to try and laugh as much as you can, let thing go and understand when they need some space. That said, I wouldn’t want to be sharing this adventure with anyone else.

Research, research, research

Trip advisor has, in five weeks, become my most used app on my phone (closely followed by xecurrency, a handy tool for working out how much something is before you haggle). Hostels never look like their professional photos and we learnt pretty fast to spend that extra ten minutes reading reviews before putting down a deposit.

Just say yes
I’ve scuba dived, travelled 100km on the back of a moped and seen some of the most incredible sights in the world. Sure, you might look back and think never again, but the memories are worth more than any baht, pound, dollar or dong you’ve spent.